How to Become a Shoe Designer : 10 Steps

How to Become a Sneaker Designer: 10 Steps

Do you want to learn how to become a shoe designer for Nike, Adidas, Converse, Puma or Vans? You can do it!

I’m going to be totally honest with you, landing a shoe design job at a top brand is hard but if you work hard and don’t give up you can get into the business. Don’t be afraid to start your professional shoe design career with a small company or work as a free lance designer. I landed my first shoe design job as a free lancer after spending 4 months unemployed, while I did not have a job I spent over 50 hours a week just drawing shoes!

Here are the 10 steps to become a shoe designer.

Learn to draw shoes…

1. Learn to draw…. shoes and everything else: If you want to be a professional shoe designer, of course, you need to learn how to draw shoe! This will be your language, you must know it well. Your shoe drawings are how you communicate your ideas. You have to be good! Your drawings need to show your passion and creativity to others. In a design meeting, the drawing that captures the imagination but also shows real possibilities will be the design that makes it!

You need to master concept sketching and some rendering skills. Do you think hand drawings are old-fashioned? Think again! Check out the Render Demo series of book and videos. Pro tip: Make sure to spend time drawing outsole bottoms and midsole. A designer that can draw outsoles will always be in demand!

2. Go to school:Is design school a must for shoe designers? …maybe not. But the skills and experience gained at a 4-year college or design school will really give you an edge. There are many great programs for Industrial Design or ID. Industrial Design is what you are looking for, NOT engineering. ID programs include classes on materials, drawing, human factors, etc… In design school, you will work with many creative people and you will definitely be challenged. Design school will help you to become a shoe designer. You shoe look into the shoe design program offered by Pensoles.com.

Find a mentor…

3. You will need a shoe mentor:I have been very lucky in my shoemaking career. Along the way, I have met and worked with many great people. If you are not afraid to ask questions, and patient enough to listen, you will learn a ton from mentors and coworkers. I guarantee that working in the shoe trade you will meet people from all around the world with many different experiences. I count a Canadian, an Englishman, Korean, and many Chinese men and women as great friends and mentors in the shoe trade.

4. Learn computer software: Start with Adobe IllustratorThere are many drawing programs you can use. Adobe Illustrator is easy to learn and is a great tool for refining and detailing your designs. While Illustrator is not a 3D CAD program it’s still critical for you to master it. If you are an engineer, use 3D modeling software. As a designer, you should start with Adobe Illustrator for drawing shoes.

5. Build a great portfolio to get a foot in the door:There are many ways to get noticed and get started but a great design portfolio is your launching point. In this day and age, an online portfolio is a must. With an online portfolio, you can show hundreds of drawings. Let people see what you can do! Other tools? Surfing LinkedIn.com can get you some contacts.

Study

6. Study the classics:Study the classics, not the masterworks of Italian painters, classic shoes! Learn the modern history of shoes. There are many good books out there. Get to know the classic silhouettes from the big brands. Don’t be afraid to stand on the shoulders of the shoe giants!

7. Fill your mind with great design:To be a great shoe designer you need to look well beyond shoes! There is a multitude of great industrial design out there! Fill your mind with images – Ferrari, Prada, Frank Gehry, Philippe Starck, Apple, Porsche, etc. There are so many websites online where you can see great modern designs for products aside from shoes. Fill up your brain, and let your eyes drink up this design stew.

8. Books Books Books:I have collected dozens of design, design history, manufacturing, architecture, branding, and packaging design books. Surround yourself! If I have a design problem I can’t solve, I just dive in and start flipping pages. The answer is inside, you just need a new way to let it out! There are many good shoe designing books for beginners

9. Cut up old shoes:You need to see how shoes are really put together. Learn the hows and whys of shoe assembly. A great drawing of a shoe that cannot be made will never make it off the page! That said…a stunning new shoe design that challenges your development team can be good too!

Take chances

10. Fortune favors the bold! Take chances! Your shoe designs should pursue perfection no matter what kind of shoe it is. Do something new and different. Work hard to understand shoe design challenges, then attack from a new direction. Find a new material for your shoe design, use an old material in a new way. Visit the shoe factory and see what they can do, see what they can’t do. Don’t take no for an answer!

You can be a shoe designer. It takes a passion for product design and imagination to see something that can be. For me, this is the best part of being a shoe designer, seeing the future in my mind and working to create it.

We are happy to help you get started!

We have created 3 books to help young people get their professional shoe design careers started. These books were created for for shoe design beginners and pros. You will find shoe design ideas, shoe design drawings and information about the sneaker design process. How Shoes are Made, The Shoe Material Design Guide and How to Start your Own Shoe Company. These books are available world wide in PDF download formats and on Amazon.com.

learn how to make shoes:

Do you want to learn how big brands make shoes? Now you can! How Shoes are Made will show you how modern shoes come to life! More than just a tour through a sneaker factory and more than your average shoe making book! This is the perfect Shoe design a handbook for footwear designers. From drawing shoe designs to sample development and footwear manufacturing, you will learn how it is all done. Written by veteran shoemaking pros, How Shoes are Made will give you a look inside the REAL world of shoe design, development, and mass production. This book teaches shoe making for beginners and students. 220 pages with over 400 color photos and drawings. 26 chapters explaining shoe design, footwear pattern making, sample development, footwear materials selection, upper stitching, outsole and tooling design, shoe lasts, shoe costing, quality inspections, pattern making and much more! A must-read for young shoe designers, sneakerheads, or any footwear fanatic! Secure payments Visa, MasterCard & PayPal. Over 3500 copies sold! Read in over 60 countries!Ready for Download Now! Edición española See Preview Video On YouTube

Learn how to make shoes! A must-have for anyone serious about launching a new footwear company. Pro Pack includes 3 books, 585 pages with over 855 color photos! Outsole blueprints, shoe patterns, spec sheets and much more! Launch your footwear career today!

Do you want to see how the big brands really make shoes? Now you can! More than just a tour through a sneaker factory more than your average shoe making book! How Shoes are Made will show you how modern shoes really come to life! From drawing shoe designs to sample development and footwear manufacturing you will see how it’s done. Written by veteran shoemaking pros, How Shoes are Made will give you a look inside the REAL world of Shoe Design Development and Mass Production.

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